Who's The Boss?
by ReaganCaseyFan
Summary: The idea for this one-off story came from communicating with olischulu. Cameron's been bossy and John's getting tired of having two mothers. Of course, John is a teenager and not yet General Connor. The misadventures of John in this story are meant to be funny as Cameron decides to leave him to his own devices for a day or so. Hope you like it. Reviews are always appreciated.


**Who's the Boss?**

 **Disclaimer:** Don't own TSCC

 _The idea for this one-off came from communicating with olischulu. Hopefully the result if an amusing story. It is written in the universe of my story Cameron Grows Up. If you haven't read that, and you like this short story, please consider reading Cameron Grows Up._

"Do this. Do that. Don't do this. Don't do that. I can't take it anymore! I'm leaving. I'll be back when I am good and ready!"

Without another word John left by the backdoor, slamming it as hard as possible to make his point. Within seconds, the sound of the family SUV starting could be heard in the kitchen.

Sarah threw her dishtowel on the counter and glared at Cameron. Cameron folded and hung the dishtowel up and returned Sarah's glare and upped it to her Terminator Death Glare.

 _ **(The following verbal exchange takes place at two different volumes. Sarah is LOUD and angry. Cameron is speaking in her flat, matter-of-fact monotone style of speech.)**_

"This is your fault."

"No, Sarah. John's outburst is a result of you telling him to wipe his mouth."

"Hardly, Tin Miss. You pissed him off when you told him to eat his spinach. You know he hates spinach."

"Spinach is an excellent source of iron and other vitamins and minerals John needs as he grows and develops. Wiping his mouth is nothing more than a social custom. I had John's best interests in mind when I issued my directive. John's health must be maintained at optimal levels. You, on the other hand, were commenting on his social behavior. I agree he should have wiped his mouth. Not doing so was rude and somewhat disgusting. Your comment was the unnecessary one."

"Oh, is that so! Well, who else is going to teach John his manners? YOU? You have a hard enough time on your own. What's more, you have a lot to learn about appropriate social interaction YOURSELF, Tin Miss!"

"Shouting is not necessary Sarah. My auditory sensors are functioning within normal parameters."

"I'll tell you something else, little miss 'don't I look cute in my short skirt,' John's going to get tired of you bossing him around. I'm getting tired of you bossing him around. Hurry up John. We'll be late for school. You need more rest John. Have you finished your homework John? No wonder John dated Riley!"

"John needs to be more disciplined. I am simply making certain John complies with tasks he must accomplish in a timely manner and takes care of his physical well-being. John dated Riley to rebel against you Sarah. She also had larger mammary glands than I do and John finds that appealing."

"Yeah, well good for him. And who said it was your place to take care of disciplining John? I am his mother. I'm perfectly capable of seeing to it he gets to school on time, eats properly, that sort of stuff. I certainly don't need a terminator, that means YOU Tin Miss, telling me how to be a good mother!"

A resounding crash came from the living room as several books hit the wall.

"Will the two of you PLEASE GIVE IT A REST! I'm trying to watch ESPN SportsCenter! I can't hear a word over the two of you bickering! SHUT UP!"

Silence filled the kitchen. Only the sound of the sports commentators could be heard in the Connor house following Derek's outburst. Sarah took position at one end of the kitchen counter, folded her arms across her chest, frowned her best, most intimidating frown, and launched her attack, initiating a staring contest with Cameron.

In immediate response to the challenge thrown down by Sarah, Cameron took position at the opposite end of the counter, put one hand on the counter as she leaned against it and the other hand on her hip. Accessing her HUD, Cameron called up her routine for her Terminator Death Glare and answered Sarah's challenge to a staring contest.

Several minutes passed as the two alpha females fought, locked in their epic struggle of wills, when Derek entered the kitchen. Taking a beer from the refrigerator he glanced at the two females and shook his head as he opened the bottle of beer. Returning to the living room, he changed channels, looking for a documentary on the development of infantry weapons.

After fifteen minutes, Sarah realized her tactical error in challenging Cameron to a battle of wills in a staring contest. Cameron possessed an undefeated lifetime record if staring contests were a sporting event. Deciding to cut her losses, Sarah broke off the engagement, leaving for the basement to retrieve several guns to clean.

The faint smile that appeared on Cameron's face was her lone celebratory act in her victory over Sarah. Knowing it would be unwise to challenge Sarah further in any additional act of defiance on her part, Cameron picked up her small, purple purse Sarah had purchased for her. She checked the .22 caliber pistol and retrieved several hundred dollars from Sarah's stash of cash.

Passing the couch on her way out the backdoor, Cameron found herself unable to resist annoying Derek. As she walked by she reached over to flick his ears with her finger. Derek had heard Cameron shut the cabinet door where the family's grocery money was kept. Knowing Cameron was leaving to shop for groceries, he was prepared for her childish assault on his ears, covering them in time with his hands.

Her attack foiled, Cameron continued past Derek, announcing to anyone listening, "I am going grocery shopping."

 **Four hours later…**

On her way to the grocery store, Cameron had decided research needed to be conducted on which female in the Connor family had more influence over John's behavior.

Having taken over the cooking duties for the family, much to everyone's relief, including Sarah, Cameron had slowly altered the family's diet. Sarah looked healthier. Derek had lost his fledgling beer gut, largely because Cameron had started hiding half of his beer. John had gained several pounds of lean muscle and possessed more energy.

Her experiment would consist of a change in the family meal for dinner. Instead of cooking everything and then serving each member of the family with a plate of food containing a near perfect balance of nutrients, calories as well as vitamins and minerals, Cameron was going to have a buffet style dinner.

The kitchen table had been set. Cameron had cooked far too much food for a single meal. Prepared for the meal was a wide range of food including healthy food prepared optimally for her family. Also included was plenty of well cooked, unhealthy but delicious comfort food. Pitchers of ice tea, coke and cold beer sat on the counter at the end of her carefully arranged buffet line. Deserts made of fresh fruit as well as high calorie sugar-laden treats sat on a desert table placed close to the family dinner table.

John had come home in a clearly agitated state of mind and gone directly to his room, to the relief of both Cameron and Sarah. Neither was pleased with John for having left without his protector.

Cameron announced in a loud voice dinner was ready.

Minutes later Sarah and Derek entered from the garage and John came bounding down the stairs. Everyone washed their hands and made their way to the kitchen only to find their progress impeded by a blank faced Cameron.

"What's the deal Cameron," Derek growled. "You said dinner was ready."

"I have decided to alter our normal eating arrangements for tonight. We are having a buffet. Each of you may eat whatever you want. You have various options for drink and desert as well. Enjoy your meal."

Eager to see if John adhered to the eating guidelines she had established for him, Cameron stepped aside.

Derek and John, smelling the wonderful scent of well cooked food, hurried into the kitchen, grabbing plates and quickly examining all the delicious choices Cameron had prepared for them to eat.

Sarah walked slowly past Cameron, watching the little cyborg with caution. Clearly, Cameron was up to something.

Lowering her voice, Sarah hissed, "what have you done? Poisoned the food?"

Ignoring Sarah, Cameron remained silent, observing John and Derek. To her dismay, John and Derek both passed by the fresh greens, vegetables and lean fish she had broiled. Both males were loading the calorie-laden pizza, fried chicken, bacon cheese fries and macaroni and cheese. The lone concession to consuming any vegetable, if it could be called that, was the fried Okra the two added to their plates.

Sarah looked at the food Cameron had cooked. She made herself a salad from the greens and picked up a piece of the broiled fish. Black-eyed peas and cauliflower were added to her plate as well. Unable to resist her taste for junk food, Sarah added a slice of pizza.

John poured himself a huge glass of Coke while Derek did the same with the cold beer, taking a big swig before topping off his glass again. Sarah poured herself a glass of iced tea. The three humans sat down and began eating. Cameron poured a glass of tea for herself and sat down.

John and Derek shoveled their food down. Their faces covered with grease, sauce and any manner of food. Sarah, who had realized the game Cameron was playing, remained silent.

Finishing their first plates of food, John and Derek returned for seconds and made nearly identical selections of food. Nor did they slow down as they ate. Finally, both sat back, patted their overstuffed stomachs and belched, laughing as they did so.

Cameron stood, threw her cloth napkin at John and left the kitchen. Opening the drawer where the family's day-to-day pistols were kept, Cameron retrieved a Glock and headed for the backdoor. "I am going on patrol. I will clean up the mess when I get back."

Looking at each other with puzzled expressions, John and Derek just shrugged and headed for the desert table. Pleased she had won what appeared to be a contest Cameron had staged to prove who had the most control over John, Sarah found it impossible to remain silent.

"Both of you, right now, mind your manners. WIPE YOUR FACES! You two act like pigs rooting in the trough some times. Don't either of you look at me like that. Wipe your faces. And who ever told you it was polite to burp at the dinner table John? And Derek, I know manners are irrelevant after Judgment Day, but have a little respect."

The two males looked at each other and shrugged. Sitting down they both wiped their faces and then proceeded to eat their deserts in silence.

When the pair finished, both stood and headed out to the living room.

"Oh, I don't think so you two. Go and put your dishes in the sink."

"Mom, chill. Cameron said she'd take care of it when she gets back."

"Don't talk back to me young man. Now. Move it. Put your dishes in the sink."

Grumbling John and Derek both complied with Sarah's order. Sarah decided to put the uneaten food away for leftovers. She stacked the remaining dishes in the sink for Cameron to wash.

 **The next morning…**

Sarah and Cameron sat at the breakfast table. Despite Sarah knowing better, she had inadvertently looked Cameron in the eye, and for the second time in less than 24 hours Sarah found herself in a duel with Tin Miss.

Determined to last longer than their previous duel, Sarah lost track of time. Cameron, determined to never allow Sarah to win a staring contest, ignored her internal chronometer.

Upstairs, John rolled over and fumbled for his alarm clock. Unable to find it, he realized he had grown accustomed to either his mother or Cameron waking him up. Deciding to not waste any additional time searching for the missing clock, John stumbled to his shower, shedding his t-shirt and boxer shorts as he went.

Stepping into the shower, John turned on the hot water and leaned his head against the shower wall, allowing the hot water to run over his head and back. Within minutes, he was sound asleep again. The hot water quickly ran out as Sarah and Cameron had both taken showers earlier in the morning. The shock of the cold water hitting his body roused him from his slumber, waking John up for once and all.

John hurriedly turned off the water and grabbed the towel hanging on the wall. Hopping out of the shower, he dried himself off as quickly as possible. Returning to his room, John began digging through the stack of clean clothes Cameron had washed and folded and left for John to put up. Deciding on what he wanted to wear, John took his time getting dressed.

He looked through his schoolbooks and realized he had not finished most of his homework. Shrugging, he packed everything into his backpack and picked it up and headed downstairs.

Entering the kitchen, John laughed to himself as the two females in his family were engaged in yet another staring contest. Looking through the pantry, he found a new box of corn flakes. He poured himself a bowl and added milk. Sitting down, he picked up the sports page.

Finishing his cereal, he put his bowl in the sink and sat back down at the table to watch the on going battle of wills. Watching first his mother and then Cameron, John sat back and grinned at the silly display of stubbornness.

Laughing, John spoke up, "what are you thinking Mom? You'll never beat Cameron in a stare-down!"

Breaking off the engagement, Sarah looked first at John and then Cameron.

"Time?"

"A new record for you Sarah. You lasted 17 minutes and 21 seconds before you capitulated and accepted your inevitable defeat."

Smiling, Sarah looked at John. Her smile slowly turned into her mother frown. "The bell for first period just rang John. You and Cameron are LATE!"

John swallowed and grimaced.

Cameron stood and picked up her backpack. Without a word she left the kitchen and headed for the SUV. John followed in a hurry and within seconds the two were enroute to school.

Hoping to make it to school by second period, John drove faster than normal. Rolling through several stop signs, he noticed Cameron was being quite. Normally she would have complained about the unsafe nature of his driving and the fact he was calling attention to himself with slightly reckless driving.

John turned their SUV onto the street their school was located on and floored it. To his dismay, he realized he had forgotten about the school zone still in effect. The blue and white flashing lights of the squad car pulling in behind him reminded him.

Stopping in the student parking lot, John turned off the engine and hit the driving wheel with both hands in frustration. Reaching over to the glove compartment, he opened it and quickly took out his insurance and vehicle registration. Rolling down his window, John held out the documents and reached for his wallet, not waiting for the officer to ask. The officer took the documents and then reached out in silence as John handed over his driver's license.

"You're a student here."

It was a statement, not a question.

Looking up at the officer for the first time, John realized there was going to be no talking his way out of this one unless…

"Yes sir. My sister overslept. You know how it takes forever for girls to get ready. She's got a test second period in English class and she's failing."

Lowering his voice in a conspiratorial manner, John continued, "she has problems with reading, needs all the time she can get."

"I was just hurrying to get her to second period on time. I know. It wasn't the smartest thing to do, but I wanted to get her here as quickly as possible. Bad enough getting tardies as it is."

Handing John his papers back, the officer leaned down and looked at a clearly disinterested Cameron.

"Is that true young lady."

"No. He overslept. I have a 100 average in English class."

"Well son, whatever you did to annoy your sister, you might want to rethink it. She might be more willing to cover for you next time."

The officer finished writing John his ticket.

Handing John his ticket, the officer spoke again, "the fine for speeding in a school zone is $287. You can pay it or appear in court and challenge it."

Smiling, the officer tipped his hat to Cameron, stepped back from the car and with an unnecessarily cheerful tone informed the irritated pair of teenagers, "Have a good day."

Hurrying to the school administration office to get their admit passes, John looked at Cameron with annoyance.

"Cam, if you'd have just followed my lead and flirted with the cop a little we'd have gotten out of that ticket!"

"It would have been wrong for me to have done so. I bitterly resent it when you flirt with girls, especially bimbos like Riley or Cindy. To have flirted with a male officer would have been hypocritical of me."

"Cam, Mom is going to FREAK OUT about the ticket! There will be no end to the screaming and yelling when we get home."

"It matters not to me John. I was not the one who got the ticket."

Cameron proceeded to speed up and entered the school office. Within minutes she was gone. Brushing by John, he noticed she held an admit pass in her hand, not a tardy pass.

"Mr. Baum! Making Cameron late for class like that! Shame on you! This is your fifth tardy this grading period. You what know that means. You have detention this Saturday young man."

Sighing, John took his detention slip and tardy pass. Looking at the attendance secretary with an annoyed expression, John felt compelled to ask, "how many tardies does Cameron have?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but she is NEVER late to class. Unlike you. Since you were the reason she was late too school, it seemed a shame to ruin her perfect record for being on time. Now go to class young man. I better not see you in the office again today!"

 **At lunch…**

John noticed Cameron had not waited for him to get lunch. Spotting her in their usual seats, her friends from dance class had already joined her. John took his time joining them. Sitting down, he leaned over and kissed Cameron on the cheek. She ignored him and maintained her focused attention on her friends as they shared the day's gossip.

A few minutes before the bell rang to end the lunch period, Cameron picked up her plate and excused herself, telling her dance friends she had to drop off her paper that had been due first period. Ignoring John still, she quickly left.

Silence quickly ran through Cameron's friends. After a few seconds the girls could no longer contain themselves as they burst out in giggles.

Mary, the tallest and most vocal of the group, was unable to resist her urge to taunt John, "UUUUUuuuuuuu, John's in trouuubbbblllle!"

The girls all burst into laughter as John stood up hurriedly, smiled and left quickly, hoping to save what was left of his dignity.

 **The ride home…**

John walked slowly to the SUV. Since John had driven, he had the car keys. Not seeing Cameron he wondered where she was. Upon getting closer to the SUV, he noticed she was sitting in the car.

Opening the driver's door, he tossed his backpack in back. He slipped into the driver's seat, put the keys in the ignition and started the engine.

"How'd you get in the car?"

"Picked the lock."

"How was your day."

"Acceptable."

"Want to go anywhere?"

"Home. I have my private dance lesson."

"Want me to drive you?"

"No. I have already called Derek and requested he take me."

The last piece of information woke John up to the fact he was in seriously hot water with his girlfriend. Cameron NEVER asked Derek to take her anywhere. Of course, this meant she had told Derek _WHY_ she was mad at him. Cameron had certainly spilled the beans about the ticket. Derek in turn would tell his mother, giving her plenty of time to work herself into a full Sarah Connor rage. To make matters worse, his mom would have to wait until he got home to vent her rage. Cameron would be able to walk in, the innocent party in all of this, grab her dance stuff and leave with Derek. Derek of course would have said no to Cameron's request and then quickly thought better of it. There was no reason for him to be present to witness the verbal execution, beheading and drawing and quartering of the guilty party, one John Connor.

Thinking about his options, John realized there was no escape. By calling ahead, Cameron had cleared the deck for her to make a quick getaway. Derek driving her gave her a means to escape the wrathful demonstration that would take place. Sarah would never prevent Cameron from making it to her private class on time as Cameron's ballet had become a social matter for the entire family to participate in.

He was doomed. Better to just man-up and face the approaching hurricane.

John pulled into the driveway and parked the car. Cameron got out with out saying a word and hurriedly entered the house.

Derek was leaning against his truck with a big grin as John eased his way out of the SUV.

Laughing at John, Derek began to get into his truck. "For once, I'm happy to take Cameron somewhere. No need for me to suffer any collateral damage."

Almost as fast as she had entered the house, Cameron had returned and climbed into Derek's truck without speaking a word to John.

Feeling like a condemned man, John slowly made his way to the house.

Entering the kitchen, John dropped his backpack on the floor under the table and sat down. Waiting for him in silence was the hurricane tornado combination he knew as his mother.

Sitting in her seat at the breakfast table, Sarah was wearing her best "angry Mom" face, occasionally switching to the "don't mess with me" face. Her "do you want to die" face even made an appearance.

"Let's see it," Sarah said, reaching across the table.

John reached into his pocket and slowly withdrew the speeding ticket. Sliding it across the table slowly, John decided to take it like a man. Looking his mother in the eye, he picked up the ticket and handed it to her.

Sarah looked down at the amount owed and John became the first living creature to see the first use of Sarah's combined "I'm going to kill you" and "just what the hell were you thinking" face.

"Speeding in a school zone! $287! Just what were you thinking! That's it! Cameron is driving to school from now on!"

Grimacing at the beginning of Round One of the verbal onslaught, John reminded himself to be a man about it. He had been speeding in a school zone.

 **That evening…**

Derek and Cameron arrived later than normal after Cameron's private dance class. Derek hopped over the back of the couch, grabbed the remote and cut on The Military Channel. Cameron continued through the living room and started up the stairs.

Tired and hungry from all of the heavy lifting he had been doing, moving crates of weapons as the first stage of his punishment, John called out to Cameron.

"Hey! How was dance class?"

"Fine."

"What you got planned for us to eat tonight?"

"Nothing."

Puzzled, John watched Cameron make her way up the stairs. Moments later, the resounding sound of Cameron slamming her door shot through the house.

"Derek, want to order something? Mom is out for the night. She's scouting a factory."

"Nah, I'm good. You aren't gonna believe what little Tin Miss did. Since I hauled her metal butt to dance class and waited to pick her up, she took me to In and Out Burger. She even sat in total silence and didn't piss me off. Best of all, she even sat at a different table so I didn't have to look at her. So I had a nice burger and fries and didn't have to pay for it."

"So I'm on my own for dinner?"

"Yep. Now shut up so I can watch my show in peace."

Annoyed, John went to the refrigerator and began digging through the assorted leftovers.

 **The next morning…**

John rolled over and stretched. Still sleepy, he decided to grab a few more minutes of sleep. Settling back down, he was about to drift off to sleep when his door exploded into his bedroom.

Sitting bolt upright in his bed, before John's eyes, the angry black tornado hurricane also known as his mother appeared. Arms folded across her chest, combat fatigues on and her "don't piss me off anymore than you already have" face on, she asked John in a low, threatening voice, "Planning to get up before the next century? Cameron has already LEFT for school! ON TIME I MIGHT ADD! Now get your butt up, this instant! I'm taking you to school this morning! I just got home and I'm tired and need to sleep a few hours. But you, you couldn't manage to get yourself up on time!"

The door slammed as his mother stormed off down the hall.

John ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.

"I'm doomed. Mom's not gonna like it when I tell her about my Saturday detention."

 **Lunch time…**

Having just made it to Homeroom with seconds to spare, John managed to avoid another tardy. Tired of not being able to spend time with Cameron he hurried through the lunch line so he could be the first to arrive at their lunch spot. Within minutes of sitting down Cameron's friends joined him and began their daily ritual of bashing their archenemy Cindy and her two minions, talking about boys and gossiping.

After finishing his food, John listened to their inane teenage girl conversation. Realizing Cameron was not going to show up, he stood, excused himself and made ready to leave. Grace, Cameron's closest friend in her group, followed John and touched his elbow to get his attention.

"I just want to warn you. Cam's really, I mean really angry with you. I mean super-pissed. Whatever you did, you need to make nice for a long time. She was crying in the stall in the girls bathroom."

"Yeah, I kinda screwed up, but it was her fault too. Of course, you know how stubborn she is. Getting her to admit that is not gonna be easy."

"John, Cindy came in and heard Cameron crying."

His pulse shot up as his heart began to race.

"Cam didn't hit her did she? Is Cindy still alive?"

Grace started talking in her rapid fire, faster than normal teenage girl pattern of speech. "Yeah, Cam didn't whip out any Terminator Fu on her ass, which of course would have been totally awesome if she had. It was the strangest thing though. We all had a good laugh."

"What did she do?"

"Well, first, once Cindy realized it was Cameron, she started in on her you know, making comments like calling her a no talent bitch whore. I think the word slut was used a couple of times, you know, stuff like that. Couldn't' dance her way out of a wet paper bag, that kind of thing."

"And Cameron let her live?"

"Yes! I was shocked too! She came out of that stall with a smile on her face. You could tell she had been crying. Cam needed to fix her eyes you know what I mean? Then the words started flying like crazy! I've never heard so many bitch whores, sluts, skanks, and just about any putdown you can throw at a dancer. Cam even told Cindy to go back on her starvation diet cuz she had gotten so fat. I mean that's really not nice, you know. Dancers are all sensitive about the whole bulimia and anorexia thing, so you just don't go there unless a boyfriend has been stolen. Which of course was not the case, so Cam hit low on that one. But it was Cindy and we think she's a bitch, so she had it coming."

"Wow. I think I'm going to take the cowards way out and just apologize when I get a chance to talk to her."

"Might be a good idea. Cindy cried all through English class. It was just awesome! I mean totally awesome! Cindy's made all of us cry, like, two or three times each. Did I say it was just awesome? I think I did. Anyhoo, Cam's our hero! That woman of yours has a potty mouth on her, whoa boy. Caught all of us by surprise. But John, be nice to her. She's our friend. We like you and all, but if she dumps you, we're all gonna officially hate you at least until Prom. It's not personal or anything, us girls just have to stick together."

"I wouldn't worry about us breaking up, but thanks for the warning."

 **After school…**

Trudging towards their parking spot, John looked up to see the SUV was gone. Looking down at his watch, he realized his quick conversation with two of his friends in his ROTC class had lasted closer to twenty minutes instead of the five he thought it had. Late again.

Derek and his mother were gone scouting for another location for a weapons cache and would not be home until dinnertime. With nobody at home to call, Cameron would be leaving for her after school dance class in minutes if she had not already left, John was going to have to walk home.

 _Well, at least I won't have my bodyguard with me, telling me to hurry up, slow down, don't do this, don't do that. I can have a little time by myself._

Adjusting his straps on his backpack, John began his long walk home.

In the distance, Cameron kept an eye on John as she scanned the surrounding area for threats. She hated missing a dance class and only did so when a mission required it. Justifying the absence due to her need to make sure John got home safely, she had called the dance studio and told them she would not be able to attend that day. Her teacher, the studio owner, thanked her for calling and told Cameron she could have a free make up class.

The make up class made Cameron more at ease as she watched John sadly make his way home alone.

This was better she decided. She had gotten too bossy, but John simply required so much prodding at times to get him to do things he should do on his own. Cameron realized she had been acting more like his mother and less like his girlfriend.

Of course, she would continue to supervise his meals. Sarah was a terrible cook and fed everyone pancakes far more often than was healthy. No, Cameron decided, she would continue to cook for the family. Sarah's health was fragile, even though the matriarch would never admit it. Cameron made sure Sarah's diet was high in anti-oxidants. Derek's alcohol consumption had to be monitored and controlled as well.

Maybe she could deal with getting John up by waking him up thirty minutes earlier than she normally did and then leave him to his own devices to actually get out of bed. See if he could manage to make it downstairs in time to eat the breakfast she had cooked for him and still depart on time for school.

 _This is going to take some serious adjusting on my part, but he has to learn. I only boss John because I need to take care of him. Well, want to take care of him. No, it makes me happy to take care of him. I think Sarah knows I am trying to do what is best for John._

John trudged up the driveway to their house, looking like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Shutting the backdoor, John heard Cameron pull into the driveway. Angry at having to walk all the way home, he decided it was time for a little revenge.

Sitting down at the dinner table, he looked at his plate. Warmed up leftovers. Sarah and Derek looked up from their food. The backdoor opened and within seconds Cameron was sitting in her chair.

"Are the leftovers adequate? Sarah, did you follow the warming instructions I left?"

"Uh, actually, Tin Miss, I warmed up the food. Didn't want to take any chances on ruining your cooking, even if it is leftovers," Derek said with a grin on his face, his eyes laughing at Sarah.

Sarah smiled back sarcastically and threw her cloth napkin at Derek.

Figuring it was time to drop Cameron in some hot water, John cleared his throat to get the adults attention.

"Yes, John?"

"Mom, Cameron left me at school. She just took off after school to go to her private dance class. You and Derek were out scouting for a new location for a weapons cache, so I had to walk home. Alone! Without my protector! Who just abandoned me!"

Sarah studied John closely, weighing his words. Her reaction not being what John expected. He glanced quickly at Derek. His face calm and devoid of any emotion, Derek was looking at his plate as he tried to get the last bits of food on his fork.

"Well, isn't anyone going to say anything? She left me! At school! To walk home alone! That's not protocol! Mom, you gonna rip Cam a new one or not?"

Sarah remained silent, chewing her last bite of food. Taking a sip of her iced tea, she nodded at Cameron.

Turning to look at his girlfriend, John noticed Cameron was sitting with her perfect posture as usual, her face downcast. Something seemed odd. Cameron had her blank terminator expression on and her left hand was not twitching. She didn't' seem upset about anything, but even with her raging lack of emotional control, Cameron could still be an emotional blank slate on a regular basis.

"What? She's just sitting there."

Sarah nodded at Cameron again, this time with an annoyed look on her face. "You're not being observant. If that was not Cameron, but another infiltrator, you'd be dead."

Looking at Cameron a second time, John noticed his mistake. Cameron was still dressed in her school clothes. When she went to her private lessons, she always came home in her dance attire.

"What do you see? Tell me what the intel tells you."

Sighing, realizing his mistake, John spoke softly, "Cam skipped her ballet lesson and followed me home. I was never alone. She followed protocol. How did you know?"

"She called. You know, acted responsibly. Think you might want to apologize to her?"

"No. She's been bossy. Way too bossy lately."

"Who didn't get up in time for school this morning?"

"I didn't mom, but that's Cameron's fau…yeah, I see your point."

Cameron looked up at John.

"I apologize. I only want to do what is best for you. It makes me happy to make sure you are dressed properly, on time and fed proper nutrition. You do require considerable effort in order to see to your proper care."

"Cam, I'm sorry. Can you just back off on a few things, let me manage myself a little."

"That is a good idea John. What would you like me to have you be responsible for on your own? You may select from the following items I have listed."

Cameron reached into her pocket and pulled out a perfectly folded piece of paper. Opening it John saw a long list printed in Cameron's perfect handwriting.

 **Laundry – includes:**

Sorting

Washing

Drying

Folding

Ironing if necessary (extra starch)

Putting away

 **Sleep – includes:**

Monitoring for nightmares

Monitoring for amount of sleep

Monitoring for bedtime

Monitoring for wake up time

 **School – includes:**

Homework done on time

Homework done correctly

Outside military studies done on time

Outside military studies done correctly

Attendance

Paying attention in shared classes

Getting to class on time

 **Supervision – includes"**

Driving

Keeping all hostile females away

Monitoring purchases when shopping

 **Household cleaning of Cameron and John's shared living area – includes:**

Cameron and John's shared bathroom

Changing bed linen

Cleaning window

Dusting

Vacuuming

 **Exercise – includes:**

Primary responsibility of Derek

Consult with Derek

The list continued to John's surprise. Cameron spent an inordinate amount of time and effort in taking care of him.

"I see you are offering to let me fend for myself in regard to my own protection from unwanted female attention."

"That was a test. You did not pass. I will now increase my monitoring of unwanted females and their attention."

John laughed, hoping Cameron was joking. He had learned Terminators did have a sense of humor and Cameron's was a very dry one.

"I am not joking John."

Cameron was now watching John with her Death Glare. He realized if she had been joking before, she certainly wasn't now.

"Let's start with the sleeping. I hate it when you and Mom wake me up or tell me to go to bed."

Sarah looked at John and then Cameron.

"Tin Miss, did you hear John? No more managing his sleep."

"What about John's nightmares? I am often able to calm him without waking him. I also need to make a safety inspection once a night."

Sarah smiled at the two lovebirds.

"John, I think Cameron and I both need to let you manage your own bedtimes and getting up. Good luck on keeping either of us from checking on you during the night. And Cameron, I overrule any objection John has in regard to you and his nightmares."

John glanced down at the list again.

"I don't see anything about getting to pick what I want to eat."

Cameron looked directly at Derek. John noticed immediately and looked at his uncle.

Embarrassed, Derek looked down at his empty plate and then looked up at John. He then looked at Sarah, growing more uncomfortable by the second. Finally, he shook his head and cleared his throat before speaking, "Uh, John, Sarah, geez, I can't believe I'm going to say this. I vote for Cameron to keep doing the cooking around here. I'm sorry Sarah, but Judgment Day has not come yet. I can only eat so many burned pancakes. John, Cameron puts out a fine spread every meal. The only time she's ever tried to poison me was when I was mean to her a couple of times while she was cooking and all she did was lace my food with a bottle of Tobasco sauce, cayenne pepper and something else that burned all the skin off my mouth. So long as I don't provoke her, she's a great cook."

Annoyed, Sarah looked at Derek before shrugging her shoulders. "John, Tin Miss is a better cook than I am. You know she feeds all of us according to the data from those pesky health scans she does when she thinks we aren't paying attention. I am well aware of all the anti-cancer stuff she tries to feed me. You're outvoted."

Pleased to have won the battle over dietary concerns so easily, Cameron reached out and touched John on his elbow. "You have my permission to eat what you want at school. I can counter balance any negative impact in your diet with your meals at home."

"Some compromise, nobody can eat that stuff they feed us at lunch."

Sarah noticed the second long wincing of Cameron's eyes. She tried to offer an olive branch and John hadn't noticed.

"John, I think you need to go to your room."

"Uh, I thought I was on my own again for managing my sleeping time."

"Nope. Cameron may have conceded your schoolwork responsibilities, but I'm not letting that go unsupervised. Homework. Now."

Defeated, John left to go to his room.

 **Three hours later…**

Cameron had returned from her first night patrol. Sarah looked up from the machine pistol she was cleaning. Cameron paused to think about waking Derek up as he slept on the couch. Realizing Cameron was about to launch an attack of some sort on the sleeping Reese brother, Sarah softly cleared her throat to get Tin Miss's attention. Hearing Sarah, Cameron walked silently into the kitchen and sat down with Sarah.

"I am pleased you realized there was something of a problem. Both of us need to "mother" John less so he can grow up."

Cameron nodded in silence and then lowered her eyes.

"Cameron, I know how you feel. You just want to make sure nothing bad ever happens to him. Even the two of us spending all of our time and effort on that one thing could never stop something bad from happening to John."

Cameron looked up and smiled for one second and her blank expression returned.

"I feel compelled to do everything possible to protect John, maintain his health and make sure he is as happy as possible. It is a much more complicated task than I ever envisioned when I established those goals as my mission parameters."

"I know you do. Well, at least I recognize you try and that does matter to me. I only feel like melting you down every other day now."

Alarmed, Cameron looked up quickly at Sarah.

"I still anger you that much?"

"Well, yes, sometimes, but I have come to realize you mean well. Most of the time. I am in agreement with the idea of keeping other girls away. You're enough trouble for this mom. At least with you I know he's physically safe and you won't let him do drugs or something like that."

"Thank you Sarah. No more Rileys. Not if I have anything to say about it. I have improved my skills at warding off unwanted marauding females. Do you want to hear what I did to that bitch whore Cindy today?"

"Sounds cool. Spill the details."

John sat on the stairs. Just far enough up the stairs that he could not be seen but could listen and watch the two most important women in his life talk. Suddenly his mother burst out laughing as Cameron retold in exact detail the ambush on her arch nemesis in the girls bathroom. He smiled as he listened.

 _At least Mom doesn't want to melt Cameron EVERY day of the week now._


End file.
